RFID
IMPLANTS: FINE FOR THEE, BUT NOT FOR MEEx-HHS
Head Puts Off Being Chipped Despite July Promise

Ex-Bush cabinet member Tommy Thompson still
hasn't received an RFID implant despite a televised promise he made in
July 2005 to do so. Shortly after joining the board of VeriChip Corporation
last spring, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and
four-term governor of Wisconsin told CNBC that he would "get chipped"
with a VeriChip implant, but he has no plans to undergo the procedure
anytime soon, according to recent revelations.

The VeriChip is a glass-encapsulated RFID device
designed to be injected into human flesh for identification purposes and
for use as a payment device.

In public appearances, Thompson has suggested
injecting the microchips into Americans to link to their electronic medical
records. "It's very beneficial and it's going to be extremely helpful
and it's a giant step forward to getting what we call an electronic medical
record for all Americans," he told CBS MarketWatch in July.

When confronted by a CNBC correspondent in another
July interview about whether he would take a chip himself, Thompson replied,
"Absolutely, without a doubt."

However, when authors Liz McIntyre and Katherine
Albrecht, who researched human chipping for their book "Spychips:
How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with
RFID," contacted the VeriChip Corporation on December 5, they were
told that the chipping never took place.

VeriChip spokesman John Procter said Thompson
has been "too busy" to undergo the chipping procedure, adding
that he had no clear plans to do so in the future. "I wouldn't put
any type of time line on it," Procter said.

The VeriChip spokesman also attributed the protracted
delay in the chipping to Thompson's desire to investigate the procedure.
"He wants to see it [the VeriChip] in a real-world environment first,"
said Procter, who said he's trying to arrange a tour for Thompson at Hackensack
University Medical Center, the first hospital to implement the technology
in its emergency room.

But the authors question this explanation. "We
would expect Mr. Thompson to investigate the device *before* advocating
it to others," said Liz McIntyre. "It sounds like he has wisely
decided to put off the implantation, perhaps due to the serious privacy
and civil liberties implications of such devices, or perhaps due to the
serious medical downsides, like electrical risks and MRI incompatibility."

Albrecht added, "Perhaps the implants conflict
with Thompson's religious beliefs. Whatever his reasons, he should share
them with the American people, many of whom have loved and trusted him
for years. He will be responsible if they take an implant because of his
influence."

Thompson may find himself under increasing pressure
to get chipped in light of VeriChip Corporation's recent IPO announcement.
The company is relying on Thompson's cooperation to give the much maligned
human tracking chip an image boost. "He said it on live television,"
said Procter of Thompson's chipping intentions. "We look forward
to setting a firm date in accordance to his schedule and other commitments....We
want to maximize the impact of [Thompson's chipping] event...We'd certainly
like to...really knock it out of the park."

McIntyre is hoping that Thompson will resist
the pressure. "Our concern is that the VeriChip Company would like
to chip every person on the planet, and they're counting on Thompson to
be their ticket to mass acceptance," said McIntyre. "We're hoping
he will work for the best interests of humanity and refuse to be goaded
into an ill advised action."

According to Procter, only about 60 living persons
in the U.S. have agreed to be chipped. In addition to the voluntary recipients,
the company's implants were injected into the deceased victims of hurricane
Katrina, and there are plans to chip mentally disabled patients at a residential
center in Chattanooga. VeriChip has also had talks with the Pentagon about
chipping military personnel, though Procter said that "no formal
agreements have been reached."

"Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track your
Every Move with RFID" is the winner of the Lysander Spooner Award for
Advancing the Literature of Liberty. Authored by Harvard doctoral researcher
Katherine Albrecht and former bank examiner Liz McIntyre, the book is meticulously
researched, drawing on patent documents, corporate source materials, conference
proceedings, and firsthand interviews to paint a convincing -- and frightening
-- picture of the threat posed by RFID.

"This is the first, and maybe the loudest,
popular book on a crucial technology of our times...all of it is fascinating,
some is gross and revolting, and most of it is hilarious...this is a masterpiece
of technocriticism."

-- From the foreword by Bruce Sterling, best-selling
author and RFID "Visionary in Residence,"
Art Center College of Design

Spychips "make[s] a stunningly powerful argument against plans for
RFID being mapped out by government agencies, retail and manufacturing
companies."

-- Evan Schuman, CIO Insight

"The book makes a very persuasive case that some of America's biggest
companies want to embed tracking technology into virtually everything
we own, and then study our usage patterns 24 hours a day. It's a truly
creepy book and well worth reading."

-- Hiawatha Bray, Boston Globe technology
reporter

"Spychips is one of the best privacy books in many years....The privacy
movement needs a book. I nominate Spychips."

-- Marc Rotenberg, Georgetown University Adjunct
Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center (EPIC)